Everybody's Golf Hot Shots was provided by Bandai Namco for review. Thank you!
For those of you who know me or are familiar with my other reviews here on SDHQ, you should understand that the sports genre is not one I find myself particularly familiar with, except for the rare standout title, such as the sublime Rematch. There has always been the odd title here and there, mind you, that not only manages to pique my interest but also captivates me. Be it down to an IP's inclusion - as is the case for Mario's sporting outings, with 2018's Mario Tennis Aces and 2005's Mario Superstar Baseball being particular highlights of mine - or a certain special je ne sais quoi, à la Rocket League, SSX Tricky, and Wii Sports (don't come for me). I'm certainly not foreign to the genre, but rather more an inexperienced traveller of these somewhat lesser-travelled lands.
A country occasionally visited, to keep up with the overly pretentious metaphor, would be the distant lands of Everybody's Golf, particularly Everybody's Golf: World Tour (or Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds in the US). The ever-approachable aesthetics and character, almost Nintendo-like in appeal, immediately drew me in all those years ago, and for us to witness an unexpected return to our digital storefronts in 2025 is an absolute treat. Rejoice, believers and sporting sceptics alike, the casual King of golf has returned!
Wait, it's not as simple as that? Oh, okay then. Time to spill the tee.
See, things have changed, with some notable developments being paramount in how we can cover this. Bandai Namco is taking over publishing duties through a licensing agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment, allowing the game to be released on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. It's also the first Everybody's Golf game not to be developed by Clap Hanz (bar the first entry), with developer Hyde (Tamagotchi Plaza, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, Digimon Survive) taking over the coveted reins. There's certainly enough change in those two transitional points alone to warrant a justified sense of trepidation when starting Everybody's Golf Hot Shots, then, and, for the most part, there's not all that much to worry about. In terms of the content, at least. Technically speaking, it's an entirely different ball game.
What is essential to know, even if you haven't played a title in the franchise before, is that Everybody's Golf Hot Shots seemingly walks back the clear emphasis on online and open world play that its 2017 predecessor evidently had. Gone are the inconsequential, driveable golf carts and free roaming, the online-centric, community-focused direction Clap Hanz chose to take. Instead, what we have in our midst is a more conventional and predictable package, featuring a standard assortment of modes in both the single-player and multiplayer brackets, albeit with few bells and whistles in between.
Clumsily-named offerings litter every which menu, with a cacophony of conventions and reasonings being hastily thrown about. Challenge Mode is a mode in which you "play various rounds to earn prize money and rewards". Meanwhile, World Tour, a name I believe better suits the former's description, is where you "play various rounds as you experience each character's story". See, confusing. Semantics aside, with Stroke Play, Match Play, Wacky Golf, and "Solo Round" rounding out the rest of the modes available, there's plenty of admittedly similar modes to find yourself teeing off in, time and time again.
And what an absolute joy the actual game is itself. A simple three-click system, synonymous with the franchise, keeps the game ever approachable and immediately enjoyable for newcomers and veterans alike, with a press of the button to start the shot, the next step determines the power, and the last step refines the accuracy. This simplicity is critical to understanding Everybody's Golf as a whole.
Seemingly more advanced tasks, such as putting spin on the ball and the various types of shots available (power shot, special shot, etc.), are equally approachable and do little to complicate matters. Likewise, the slight change in approach, aesthetically speaking, complements the gameplay immensely, with anime-esque character designs being utilised to wrap the package up neatly. By considering all the above mechanics and more, such as wind strength/direction and other various factors, each round of golf is delightful to experience first-hand and witness when you watch your opponents - computer or friend/stranger alike - take their inevitable turn.
So, all good then? Well...
The experience of Everybody's Golf Hot Shots is truly a tale of two halves. Gameplay-wise, all good, if not predictable. Technically, though, it's a mess. Unstable and sub-par (get it) stability plagues each and every round, with the wild fluctuations in frame rate affecting the accuracy of the shots themselves due to the aforementioned bar employed in the three-click system moving at an irregular and ever-changing rate. Out of the box, sub-30fps is standard, with the low to mid-20s being the not-so-sweet spot it finds itself at home.
By changing a few graphical settings from their default settings to the lowest possible - texture quality from High to Low, Anti-Aliasing to Off, Depth of Field to Off, Bloom Effect Off, and, crucially, Shadow Quality from High to Low - you can increase the FPS quite significantly, albeit still not in a stable manner. Mid-to-high 30s are now the usual, and are slightly more stable than before, although it's still imperfect. What alleviated the fluctuations, however, was limiting the frame rate within the Steam Deck's settings to 30 FPS, which maintained the smooth 90 Hz refresh rate on the OLED model. Having made this change and played a dozen or so further holes, the impact it made on not only my general enjoyment but also my accuracy and skill itself was... let's not say astronomical, particularly the latter point, but markedly better than it had been prior.
Outside of the core gameplay and the above fixes, it's worth noting some glaring issues, namely the frame rate during character dialogue in World Tour. Considering the lack of perceived strain on the system, with two character models standing in front of a backdrop, the frame rate would immediately drop to 17 FPS and stay there, amusingly being the most stable frame rate throughout the whole experience and moving away from the frame rate, or lack thereof, a 22 W draw on the battery results in an estimated two and a half hours of use, which is par for the course (I did it again!) with titles such as this.
Everybody's Golf Hot Shot is evidently full of character, a feat clearly felt and known by observers and players alike. Developers Hyde have squashed the many naysayers—myself included—who needlessly worried about the future of such a beloved franchise. A return to basics seemingly concentrated the focus of a team that clearly understands the love that Everybody's Golf has carried for almost 30 years. I, for one, look forward to a future championed by such an understanding and respect-driven team. My only wish, then, is that the blatant technical shortcomings of this particular iteration can be fixed with future updates, and indeed future releases.
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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Everybody's Golf Hot Shot is evidently full of character, a feat clearly felt and known by observers and players alike. Developers Hyde have squashed the many naysayers—myself included—who needlessly worried about the future of such a beloved franchise. A return to basics seemingly concentrated the focus of a team that clearly understands the love that Everybody's Golf has carried for almost 30 years. I, for one, look forward to a future championed by such an understanding and respect-driven team. My only wish, then, is that the blatant technical shortcomings of this particular iteration can be fixed with future updates, and indeed future releases.
